$50,000 in gold, silver stolen from Hartville parking lot

Uniontown police are investigating the theft of gold and silver coins and other merchandise grabbed from the parking lot of Hartville Coin and Jewelry after a bag containing the items fell from an employee's car.

Uniontown police are looking for the man who made off with nearly $50,000 in gold and silver coins and jewelry outside the Hartville Coin & Jewelry store.

An employee was delivering the merchandise to the local post office for shipment when a box fell out of his trunk outside the store at 1015 Edison St. NW around 9:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Police Chief Harold Britt and a news release from the store.

The stolen box contained 10 1-ounce Krugerrand gold coins, a half-ounce Krugerrand, three sovereign British gold coins, 75 Canadian silver dollars and more than two pounds of miscellaneous gold, the store’s release said.

Britt said the long-time employee left the store with the merchandise and placed it into his vehicle truck, but he didn’t see the trunk pop open as he pulled away. The box, wrapped and addressed to a business in Baltimore, fell out.

Store video shows a silver Buick SUV pull up from the south or opposite entrance to the parking lot and park. A man steps out of the passenger side and walks to the store.

Britt said he is greeted by the store security officer who tells him the store is not open.

The man sees the box but returns to the SUV, which has since parked in another parking spot. He is seen getting into the passenger side of the SUV, which pulls up to the box and then stops.

Britt said the man picked up the box, which is gone when the SUV starts moving again, this time, out of the north end of the parking lot.

The man — who is black and has a mustache — was wearing a striped toboggan or beanie-style hat.

Police are looking for the man and the driver, whose description was not available.

A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who took the box.

Britt asked anyone with information about the man, the driver or the SUV to call police at 330-699-6444.